Digital health solutions, a step forward in challenging times for global health
As challenges rise, KNCV champions person-centred, community-driven innovations to transform the TB care cascade.
We are in an era marked by health system disruptions and shifting global priorities, but tuberculosis (TB) remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease. However, TB is not just a biomedical condition, it is deeply rooted in social and structural determinants that disproportionately impact communities, including TB-related stigma, access to medical and supportive services, quality diagnostics and more. Digital health solutions come in to offer a unique opportunity to bridge these gaps by delivering timely, tailored interventions directly to where they are most needed.
From AI-supported screening tests and remote treatment support to data-driven interventions and patient engagement, digital solutions can extend the reach of health systems, break down barriers, and ensure that no one is left behind in their journey to ending TB.
Today, KNCV TB Plus is leading efforts to modernize TB care through technology, person-centred approaches, and deep community engagement. These efforts are grounded on:
- Data collection, analysis and data-driven interventions;
- Improving patient engagement;
- Strengthening healthcare worker support;
- Scalability across regions.
Across high TB-burden regions, people with TB often face stigma, delays in diagnosis, and treatment disruptions. Digital solutions (co-)developed by KNCV, and our country and global partners, are deployed across regions and able to change that narrative. These digital innovations are enabling timely diagnosis, remote support, real-time surveillance, digital adherence technologies (DATs), and virtual support innovations that are bringing care closer to the people who need it more than ever before.
Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the TB care cascade
Our recent initiatives have integrated mobile health platforms, AI-based screening tools, and AI-powered support systems, all rooted in local community contexts. Smartphone and internet access is growing globally, and platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram are being widely used in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries (HIC and LMIC). In addition, AI is getting smarter, capable of offering more personalized support. AI and digital innovations are granting us an opportunity to enhance person-centred care at scale.
AI-powered innovations enable communities and countries affected by TB to benefit from:
- Better interpretation of user data and conversational data;
- Dynamic and easier to setup in comparison to traditional chatbots;
- 24/7 availability and improved access to health information;
- Language and literacy support through Natural Language Processing (NLP); and more.
Crucially, KNCV’s approach is not just about technology, it’s about trust. By co-creating solutions with communities, training local champions, and adapting tools to local languages and realities, KNCV is ensuring that digital health doesn’t replace the human touch, it enhances it.
Our current projects under development by the Digital Health Solutions team are:
- Aida: Supporting people on TB treatment
- Clinical Support Chatbot: Supporting the TB Doctors Consilium for people with complicated DRTB in Kazakhstan
- TB Knowledge Chatbot: Overcoming language barriers and stigma in communication on TB in the Netherlands
- DigiTriage: Interpreting CD4 count test result and sharing results.
As the global TB community comes together to meet the targets of the WHO’s End TB Strategy, the work of organizations like KNCV and our partners stands as a powerful reminder: the future of TB care lies in innovation that puts people first.
If you or your organization are developing or interested in one of our digital health innovations, reach out to Job van Rest, Team Lead of Digital Health Solutions team at KNCV at job.vanrest@kncvtbc.org.